


The Brightest I've Seen

by Kkane88



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Alternate Universe - High School, And Jeff doesn't have any siblings, But Jeff likes it, Eric's a little possessive, Fluff, Growing Up Together, M/M, Slow Build, i changed their ages
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2020-03-17 01:08:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18954847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kkane88/pseuds/Kkane88
Summary: Jeff met the Staals when he was twelve years old.





	1. When You See My Friends

**Author's Note:**

> I refuse to let this ship sink  
> I'm also ignoring the fact that preteens/teenagers are vicious and I'm making them sweet and adorable instead

Jeff met the Staals when he was twelve years old. His family moved to Raleigh in the summer and he was too shy to approach the four boys that lived next door. He would watch from his bedroom window as the boys played street hockey, only learning their names when they would shout at each other. _‘Eric, that pass sucked!’ ‘Shut up, Jordy!’ ‘Marc, you’re the worst goalie on the planet.’ ‘Oh yeah, Jared? How about we switch places then and I’ll shoot pucks at your face.’_ Watching them that first summer was Jeff’s favorite pastime, as creepy as it sounds. He wanted to go out and meet them but was too afraid of them telling him he couldn’t play, saying it would make the teams uneven or not even pretending to have an excuse, just telling him no. He was also maybe a little bit intimidated. He’d always been pretty shy and these boys just seemed so confident and… loud. Jeff wasn’t sure how he would fit in with them.

Jeff’s parents became friends with the boys’ parents pretty quickly. That’s how Jeff learns that Eric, the oldest, is two years older than Jeff and all of the boys are only a year apart. Even at twelve years old, Jeff questions the sanity of people who have four children one year apart from each other, especially if they keep having boys, but Jeff’s an only child so he’s a little jealous of the siblings. His mother urges him to be friends with the boys, but Jeff freezes whenever they’re around and usually ends up running away.

One day Jordan saw him watching from the window and tried to wave him down, but Jeff just ducked away and went to do something else. Another day, Jared came and knocked on the door to invite Jeff to play with them. His mom had answered the door while Jeff listened from the top of the stairs.

“Hi! My name’s Jared. Can your son come play with us? We’re playing hockey.” His mom was thrilled that they were asking, so she forced Jeff to go out and play. There was a major problem, though: Jeff didn’t know anything about hockey. He had never even held a stick before. He loved skating and was getting pretty good at figure skating, but hockey seemed a little too violent for his parents liking. The boys are appalled at Jeff’s confession.

“You’ve never played hockey?” Jared squawks, outraged. “We need to get you some gear right now. You’re tiny though, none of our gear is going to fit you. I wonder if we have any of our old stuff. Guys do you think mom kept our old equipment?” Jared’s not pausing to take a breath between sentences and Jeff is feeling overwhelmed.

“Shut up, Jared, you’re scaring him!” Eric reprimands, but it’s too late. Jeff calls out a _‘sorry’_ as he scurries back to his house, hearing Marc’s _‘nice going, stupid’_ as he retreats. When Jeff gets back up to his room, he waits until he hears the sounds of the game starting up before going and peeking out of the window. As soon as he does, he meets Eric’s eyes like Eric had been waiting for him. He only looks long enough to see Eric’s apologetic smile before ducking down again and going to read a book.

The next day, Jeff sees the boys coming up to his front door and intercepts them before his mom sees. He doesn’t want her getting any ideas about them being friends when they’re not. When he opens the door, he has a bag of hockey gear thrust into his face and he takes it just so it doesn’t land on his feet.

“Ta-da!” Jared shouts like he had just done a magic trick. “Now you have hockey gear! I knew mom probably had some saved, but don’t worry, it’s been cleaned. Like, professionally.”

“Shut up, Jared.” Jordy cuts in. “Hi, Jeff. We’d like it if you could come play hockey with us.” Jordy grins brightly. It lowers Jeff’s defenses. But only a little bit.

“Um... “ Jeff manages, trying to think of a way to say no. “I still don’t know how to play.”

“Trust us, it will be our pleasure to teach you.” Marc says enthusiastically. “Everyone should know how to play hockey.” At this, all four boys nod gravely and look at Jeff like his answer is the most important thing in the world. It’s a little unnerving having four identical pairs of eyes on him at once, looking so intensely.

“Sorry, your teams would be uneven, so it’s not a good idea. Thanks, though!” Jeff shoves the bag of gear at them and slams the door shut before they can say anything else. He still has time to notice the determined look in Eric’s eyes though, and knows they’re not going to give up. He shakes it off and goes to finish his book, pointedly not looking out the window today.

The boys are back the next day, of course: this time with someone Jeff doesn’t recognize.

“Jeff.” Eric greets seriously. “This is my friend Cam. Now the teams are uneven. We need you to help even them up.” Jeff gapes at all of them as they look on eagerly. He can’t fathom why they want him to play with them so badly, especially since Eric’s already fourteen. He’s going to be in _high school_. Why would he want to hang out with a twelve year old that isn’t his brother? Jeff tries to think of another excuse as to why he can’t play, but he’s out of ideas. He sighs and his shoulders slump.

“Okay.” He agrees, to the enthusiastic cheers of the boys (except Cam who just looks confused and vaguely annoyed by all of this). The bag of gear is thrust at him again with the boys promising to help him put it on.

“You’re gonna be the goalie, okay?” Jared explains. “That’s why you gotta wear all this stuff. You’ll probably be good at it because you’re small so that means you can move faster. Cam’s a goalie, too, but no one can ever score on him because he’s so good. It’s okay, though! We know it’s your first time so we won’t get mad if you don’t stop the pucks. And this way the only rule you need to know is that you have to stop the pucks from getting in the net, okay?”

None of this is inspiring much confidence in Jeff and he doesn’t particularly like the sound of pucks being shot at him, but he’s already strapped into the gear so he can’t run away now. Besides, Eric is smiling at him like this is the best thing ever and for some reason Jeff doesn’t want to disappoint him. The divide up into teams, Eric, Jordy, and Cam on one team and Marc, Jared, and Jeff on the other. Jeff manages to stop the first few pucks that they shoot at him, but only because Eric’s the one taking the shots and Jeff’s one hundred percent sure that he’s not actually trying to score. Jeff would appreciate it if he weren’t so embarrassed.

“Nice save, Jeff!” Eric actually cheers when Jeff stops one of his shots. Humiliating. They’re maybe ten minutes into the game with no score, and Jeff’s starting to get overheated in all of this gear. He’s maybe not paying as much attention as he should be, so when Jordy takes a shot at Jeff, he only has enough time to turn his head before the puck slams into the mask hard. Jeff’s knocked onto his back and he hears several pairs of feet running toward him. Eric’s there first and he peels the mask off of Jeff’s face.

“Are you okay?” Eric asks frantically. The other boys gather around and Jordy’s face drains of color. Jeff reaches up and touches his face and his fingers come away wet with blood. Not a lot, but it makes Jeff’s heart race. He does his best not to cry but he feels the stinging in his eyes anyway. He feels his bottom lip wobble as the tears start falling. He hates that he’s such a cry baby. He knew he shouldn’t have come out here. “Come on, Jeff. We’ll take care of it, okay? It’s gonna be fine.” Eric gently pulls Jeff to his feet and starts to guide him to the Staal house.

“I’m sorry, Jeff.” Jordy calls. Jeff waves the apology off without turning around so no one can see him crying anymore. Mr. and Mrs. Staal aren’t home and Jeff assumes they’re at work since it’s the middle of the day. Part of him is glad that no one is there to see this, but the other part wishes they were. Maybe if they told his mom he got hurt, his mom would stop trying to make him go outside all the time. His mom works from home, so he’s going to have to sneak past her if he doesn’t want her to notice. Eric pulls a first aid kit out from under a cabinet in the kitchen and takes out a couple of bottles and some gauze. Jeff can’t seem to stop the tears and he refuses to look at Eric. He’s twelve years old, he shouldn’t be crying just because he got a little bit hurt. It’s humiliation more than anything that’s causing him to freak out so much.

“I’m sorry, Jeff.” Eric parrots Jordy’s earlier apology. “We didn’t mean for you to get hurt. We just wanted you to be able to play and we thought goalie would be easiest to learn.” Jeff shrugs but doesn’t respond. He doesn’t blame Eric, of course, but he also doesn’t know what to say. This is why he likes books. You don’t have to talk to books. Jeff wipes his tears away as Eric starts to wipe the blood off of his face. “It doesn’t look so bad, just a little scrape. It’s already stopped bleeding.” Jeff risks a glance up at Eric’s face while he’s distracted. Eric’s completely focused on cleaning up Jeff’s cut and he’s sure this is something Eric has to do a lot with three younger brothers. It makes him feel a little bit better that no one laughed at him, but he’s pretty sure they’re not going to ask him to play anymore. He’s not sure if he’s happy or sad about that. He starts to take the goalie gear off and manages with only a little bit of help from Eric once he’s done cleaning up Jeff’s face.

“I’m gonna go home now.” Jeff mumbles and Eric looks like he wants to argue, but he nods and walks Jeff back over to his house.

The next day, Eric comes and knocks on Jeff’s door at the usual time and Jeff answers, confused. He’s hoping that they’re not going to ask him to play hockey again. He already had to explain the cut on his face to his mom, he’d rather not have to do that again. Jeff’s holding a book behind his back sheepishly. If the Staal boys already think he’s a loser, he doesn’t want them to think he’s a nerd, too.

“Hey, Jeff. I’m really sorry about yesterday. If you want, you can still come hang out with us.” Eric offers. The refusal is on the tip of Jeff’s tongue when Eric continues. “You don’t have to play hockey. You can just read your book out here if you want.” Jeff’s surprised and can’t bring himself to look Eric in the eye, just in case he’s laughing at him, but he follows Eric outside anyway. There’s a conveniently placed tree right next to where they have the goals set up today, so Jeff goes to sit in the shade and read while the sounds of hockey wash over him. Every once in awhile, there’s the shout of _‘Car!’_ and the game is paused. The boys will haul the goals over and ask him what he’s reading and at first Jeff thinks they’re making fun of him, but he soon realizes that they’re genuinely curious. Jeff explains the basic plot of _The Golden Compass_ , although the younger three drift away to set the goals back up. Eric looks genuinely interested, though, and Jeff realizes he’s babbling. He stops, clearing his throat.

“Um. Anyway, yeah, so that’s as far as I’ve gotten.” Jeff finishes, glancing behind Eric to see the other three waiting for Eric impatiently.

“That sounds cool. Maybe I can borrow it when you’re done?” Eric asks and Jeff nods before Jared’s _‘Hurry up, Eric!’_ pulls him back to the game.

The next day Jordy shows up at Jeff’s door without the brothers in tow. Jeff peeks behind him, but there’s no hockey equipment in sight.

“Eric and Marc had to go to the doctor and Jared went to his friend’s house. You wanna hang out?” Jordy asks. Jeff agrees because one Staal brother is a lot easier to handle than four. “What do you like to do besides read?”

“Um, I don’t know.” Jeff thinks for a moment. “Sometimes I watch movies and stuff. I like to go skating.”

“Skating?” Jordy asks, puzzled. “Like, ice skating? I thought you don’t like hockey.” Jeff can’t help the giggle that escapes.

“That’s not all the ice is for. I like figure skating.” Jeff responds. And that’s when Jordy drags Jeff to the nearby rink, where Jordy shows Jeff his best hockey moves, and Jeff shows Jordy how to do twizzles. Well, tries to at least. It’s the most fun Jeff’s had since the move and they walk home laughing and shoving each other. He feels like this is the first real friend he’s made. It turns out the Staal brothers are much easier to handle one at a time. It feels less like Jeff-against-four.

After that, he’s not so afraid to hang out with the boys. They invite him to movie nights at their house and he has lunch over there more often than not. His mom is _thrilled_. She goes on and on about ‘those nice boys next door.’ By the time school starts he feels like he’s actually part of the group, even though he still doesn’t talk much. They don’t seem to mind. Jared does enough talking for all of them combined, anyway. And sometimes Eric will smile at him and Jeff pretends that it’s a smile Eric saves just for him.

Jeff and Jordan become almost inseparable. Eric’s had to spend more time practicing with his high school hockey team, so he’s not around as much as before. Jeff’s disappointed by that, but there’s not much he can do about it. Sometimes he and the other three boys go watch their practices so they can explain the rules to Jeff, but he has a hard time looking at anyone but Eric. Even for a freshman, Jeff can tell Eric plays really good hockey. Part of him wishes he could have learned how to play hockey, to be on a team with Eric when he got old enough. It’s a silly thing to wish.

“Jeff? Hellooooo.” Jordy shoves at him, trying to get his attention. Jeff tears his eyes away from where Eric is bouncing a puck on his stick and looks at Jordan. “Are you coming to the game tonight?” Eric’s team is playing a preseason practice game against another school’s team. Jeff wouldn’t miss it for the world, even if he’s still not completely sure on the rules of hockey.

“Of course.” Jeff responds, turning back just as Eric misses the puck. He looks up into the stands at Jeff and grins and Jeff feels himself smiling back reflexively. He knows he might have a bit of a crush on Eric, but he tries not to be too obvious. He looks back at Jordy to see him rolling his eyes.

“Let’s go, then. I wanna eat before the game.” Jordy drags Jeff away and they kill the couple of hours before the game playing video games. Come game time, Jeff rides with the Staals, smushed between Jared and Jordan in the back seat of the minivan. It’s a wonder all of them fit, and Jeff imagines once the boys start bulking up that it’s not going to be possible at all. Thankfully, it’s a short drive to the rink and they fall out of the van like it’s a clown car. Eric throws the gear bag over one shoulder and throws his other arm over Jeff’s shoulders.

“You gonna be my good luck charm, Skinny?” Eric teases. Once they found out his last name was Skinner, Eric had been calling him that. Jeff doesn’t think he’s _that_ skinny, but it makes Eric smile so he goes along with it. Having a nickname made him feel more like part of the group, anyway.

“We’ll see.” Jeff replies. “Maybe I’m a bad luck charm. I’ll never come to your games again.” Eric reaches up and ruffles Jeff’s curls, causing Jeff to duck away.

“There’s no way you’re gonna be bad luck. I’ll score two goals for you, just you watch.” Eric promises. And...well… Eric doesn’t score two goals. He scores three. After the third one, he finds Jeff in the crowd and mouths _good luck_ and Jeff just knows he’s not going to be allowed to miss any of Eric’s games for the rest of his high school career. He’s okay with that.

~~~

my [tumblr](https://kkane88.tumblr.com/)


	2. You Took My Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone loves Jeff and Eric’s just a little bit possessive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! My goal is to post a chapter every Saturday so this one is a little late.

Once school starts, Jeff doesn’t see Eric or Jared as much. Jordy and Marc are both in 8th grade with him, since they’re only actually 10 months apart. It still weirds Jeff out how close in age they all are, but they get a laugh out of always having to explain to everyone that, no, they aren’t twins. He sees Jared in passing, usually hearing the chipper _‘Hey, Jeff!’_ as he passes rather than actually seeing him. Jared’s in 7th grade so their schedules don’t line up. Eric’s at the high school and he doesn’t hesitate to rub it in their faces.

“Look, I can’t help it that you’re all little babies.” Eric says one night while they’re all gathered around the dining room table after dinner doing homework together. “Someday, when you’re my age, you’ll understand.” Eric winks at Jeff to show he’s kidding, and Jeff’s embarrassed by how reassuring it actually is. He doesn’t want Eric to think of him as a kid.

“Ok, grandpa.” Jordy chirps. “How long should we wait before we put you in a retirement home? We can go _now_ , if you want.”

“Oh yeah!” Marc chimes in. “I’m sure we can find one to take you for cheap.” Eric rolls his eyes and goes back to his homework. Jeff’s already finished with his work, but he doesn’t want to leave their house quite yet so he pretends to do some reading from his history book. He loves spending time with his parents, but his house just feels so quiet now. He doesn’t remember how he spent his time before the move, because without a Staal at his side, Jeff feels a little lost. He looks around the table inconspicuously and takes in their concentrated expressions. Eric has a crease between his eyebrows as he works on some algebra problems. Marc’s biting his bottom lip while Jordy’s tapping a pen against the table. Jared’s always the more hyperactive one, bouncing his leg under the table and shifting restlessly in his seat. Jeff’s eyes go back to Eric and he’s startled when he sees Eric looking back, eyebrow raised. Jeff flushes and jerks his head back down to his book. Eric closes his own book dramatically and groans while he stretches, to the annoyment of his brothers. Jeff’s a little distracted by where Eric’s shirt has ridden up but he knows better than to be caught looking so he plants his eyes firmly on his book.

“Jeff.” Eric startles him into eye contact and then motions for him to follow him. Jeff does, and Eric leads him upstairs to the bedrooms. Jeff’s confused. He’s never been up here without the whole Staal entourage and he’s never actually been in Eric’s room, which is where he’s being led. Jeff pauses in the doorway while Eric goes over to the closet and roots around. The room is filled with what you would expect from a teenage hockey player. There’s a pile of pucks on the bedside table and hockey gear in the corner. The room’s messy but not as bad as it could be. There’s hockey paraphanalia on the walls and, surprisingly, a pile of books on the desk. Jeff wants to go over and see what they are, but he’s too afraid to go that far into Eric’s room. “I have something for you.” Eric explains, walking over to Jeff while holding something behind his back. Jeff doesn’t know what he expects, but it’s not a Millbrook Musketeers hockey jersey. Eric holds it up proudly and flips it around so show him the back and Jeff’s pretty sure his face is on _fire_. The thought of putting this on and having STAAL stamped across his back is… oddly appealing in a way it probably shouldn’t be. He shouldn’t want to feel like he belongs to the Staals -to Eric- as much as he does.

“It’s… for me?” He asks quietly while Eric smiles softly at him.

“Of course. You’re my good luck charm, Skinny.” Jeff takes it from Eric and considers putting it on. He doesn’t because he’s afraid he might cry. It’s so _stupid_ how touched he is that Eric thought of him and went through the trouble of having this made. There’s no way it’s just an extra jersey he had laying around. The team’s boosters sell blank ones, but only the players have their names on the backs and Eric needs them for the games. He must have gotten a blank one and gotten his name and number printed on the back _just for Jeff_.

“How do you know I didn’t want Cam’s?” Jeff jokes, trying to break the heavy atmosphere. Eric just smiles back at him fondly and shakes his head.

“If you tried to wear Cam’s number I’d probably have to burn it.” he responds teasingly. “Besides, everyone knows you belong to us.” Jeff should be indignant; he’s not something to be _owned,_ but instead he just feels warm inside. He forgets how to do anything other than smile back at Eric until he’s ushered out of the room and back downstairs.

~~~

While the other Staals don’t outright tease him about the jersey, he does have some _looks_ thrown his way when he wears it to the next game. Jeff’s particularly embarrassed when their mom asks him about it.

“Oh, where’d you get that at?” Mrs. Staal- Linda- asks him when he gets there for the pregame warmups. Jeff feels his face heat and looks down at the jersey. This is the first time they’ve seen it, since he didn’t ride with the Staals to the game.

“Oh, um… Eric gave it to me.” Jeff responds, making his way to his seat. Linda looks at him knowingly and he catches Jordy’s smirk out of the corner of his eye. He feels like he could catch on fire at any moment and refuses to make eye contact. Instead, he watches the ice and tries his best to keep his eyes off of Eric. This is the Junior Varsity team made up mostly of freshmen and sophomores, so Jeff doesn’t know any of them except for Cam and Eric. He watches Cam stretch and winces at how painful it looks. Goalie flexibility is ridiculous, but Jeff’s a little envious. He’d be a better figure skater if he could get a little more flexible, but for now he’s sticking to his books. Jeff’s eye is drawn to Eric when he skates close to Cam. He’s focused on the warm up drills, eyes focused and skating sharp. Jeff guesses he’s probably a little nervous, considering this is the first game of the season. Jeff had considered not wearing the jersey, but he’s heard of hockey players and their superstitions. He didn’t want to throw Eric off of his game if he considered the jersey to be good luck. After taking a few shots at the net, Eric’s eyes find Jeff’s in the stands. When he sees Jeff in the jersey his face splits into a grin, and Jeff feels an answering smile on his face. Marc, sitting next to him, lets out a snort and, Jeff assumes, rolls his eyes.

“You guys are so weird.” he teases. Jeff shrinks back slightly and looks away from Eric.

“Oh, shut up.” Jordy defends. “He’ll just have to wear it to our games, too. It’s like a blanket good luck charm.”

“But we don’t all wear number 12.” Jared argues back. “I’m pretty sure it doesn’t count if he’s not wearing our numbers.” They continue to bicker about it and Jeff wishes he didn’t have to hear it. He knows he hasn’t been very subtle about his feelings, but he’s also never really had a crush before. He doesn’t know how to stop himself from smiling like an idiot or letting his face do… whatever it does when he looks at Eric. He distracts them by abruptly standing and announcing he’s going to get some food from the concession stands and the boys follow eagerly. By the time they get back, the first puck is about to be dropped and they settle in for the game. Eric doesn’t get a hat trick again, but he does score once and gets a good assist and the team ends up winning 3-2.

Afterwards, they wait around in the parking lot for Eric. Jordy, Jared, and Marc are reenacting some of the better plays of the game, but Jeff’s still slowly figuring out the rules so he just watches. When Eric finally comes outside, he catches sight of Jeff and grins, pointing at him.

“I told you it’s good luck!” He cheers, wrapping Jeff in a headlock. Jeff tries to protest, especially when Eric starts rubbing his wet hair all over his face.

“I really hope you showered and that isn’t sweat.” Jeff giggles, unsuccessful in breaking free from Eric’s hold.

“I’ll never tell!” Eric manages to say before the rest of the boys pile on. Jeff’s lost in a sea of Staals until Linda and Henry break it up by bribing them with food. Everyone’s piling into the van except Jeff. He’s not really sure if he’s invited, and he doesn’t have any money anyway. His house is only a five minute walk away so he awkwardly sets off in that direction.

“Jeff, where the heck are you going?” Jared shouts, causing six pairs of eyes to focus on him.

“Um… home?” he doesn’t mean for it to come out as a question, but if he thought four Staals staring at him was intimidating, then six is just downright terrifying. He gets four identical _you idiot_ looks and two amused smiles before Jordy runs over and grabs him, herding him towards the van. “I don’t have any money.” Jeff protests, trying to dig his feet in. He wishes he hadn’t spent all of his money on nachos during the game. He’d have to make sure to ask his mom for more next time.

“That’s alright, son.” Henry says to Jeff. “You’re basically our kid now, anyway. We’ll take care of it.” Jeff’s so surprised that he stops struggling and allows himself to be pulled into the car. Maybe he should stop spending so much time with them if he’s basically being adopted by them. He should probably check in on his parents and make sure they know he’s still theirs.

When they get to the diner, Jeff is shoved into one of those circular corner booths. Eric slips in next to him on the right and Jordy claims his other side. It’s maybe a little crowded with seven of them, but Jeff doesn’t mind. Eric throws his arm over the back of the booth behind Jeff and leaves it there all the way up until the food arrives. Jeff has the stupidest urge to lean in closer to him, but he knows Eric’s only doing it because there isn’t much room for his arms. He’ll take what he can get. He had thought about taking the jersey off in the van but decided against it. He’s glad for it now when Eric’s hand, the one behind Jeff’s back, slips down and tugs gently at the collar. Jeff flushes and glances over at him out of the corner of his eye. Eric’s looking down at the jersey before he drags his eyes up to meet Jeff’s.

“You look good in this.” Eric says quietly, so no one else hears.

“Should’ve been a hockey player, huh?” he teases. Eric smiles wryly and for a second Jeff feels like they’re having two different conversations. Eric’s hand shifts slightly and tugs on one of Jeff’s curls.

“Bet you would’ve been pretty good.” Eric agrees. “It’s not too late to start.”

“As long as I don’t have to be goalie.” Jeff says, a little breathlessly. He’s embarrassed at himself and he looks around the table to see if anyone’s noticed. No one is paying attention to them except for Henry. He’s looking at them with a raised eyebrow and a small smirk on his face that has Jeff looking away quickly. Someone asks Eric a question and his hands drops away from Jeff’s hair, settling back around his shoulders. It’s still _really_ distracting, but Jeff manages to dive into a conversation with Jordy.

Later, after he’s back at home and settled into bed, he buries his face into his pillow and lets himself giggle helplessly.

~~~

my [tumblr](https://kkane88.tumblr.com/#_=_)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need someone to bounce ideas off of so if anyone wants to talk about this or be a beta, let me know!


	3. Take My Breath Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AKA: The Birthday Chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told myself I was going to try to feature all of the Staal brothers equally, but then I go to write and it's just ALL ERIC. Only a little bit sorry.
> 
> Shameless plug chapter for the book Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta. It's my new favorite book and everyone should read it and then come talk to me about it

As much as Jeff loves spending time with the Staals, there’s nothing like a silent Saturday morning curled up in bed with a book. This time, he’s reading  _ Jellicoe Road _ and he’s so into it that he turned down the offer to have breakfast with the boys. Jared and Jordy’s joint birthday party is tonight (Jared’s birthday is in August and Jordan’s is in September, so they just have one party) so Jeff didn’t feel so bad turning down the offer to spend the whole day with them. The boys want to go to the skating rink for their party tonight (obviously) and Jeff’s getting pretty sick of hockey. Not that he would ever, ever,  _ ever _ tell them that. There would probably be a mutiny. Besides, he spends pretty much every day with at least one of the brothers, so he’s pretty sure some distance would be good for them. Maybe. Probably. Anyway, Jeff  _ really _ wants to know who the serial killer is, so he allows himself the day to read his book. He’s interrupted by a knock on his door and his mom pokes her head in.

“Hey, I’m making lunch. Do you want something?” she asks. “It’s been awhile since I’ve made food for you. I should probably be paying Henry and Linda for a meal plan.” She teases, making Jeff blush.

“I always tell them they don’t have to but they don’t listen.” Jeff defends. His mom just laughs.

“I know, they don’t mind. They tell us all the time that you’re like a son to them. They love having you around.” She reassures them. “But do you want lunch, son of mine?” Jeff agrees. After lunch, he finishes his book and then lays in bed for awhile staring at the ceiling. Honestly, what did he do before he moved here? He must have had hobbies other than hanging out with blondes. Although, he hasn’t made it very far down his reading list for the year, and usually he’s halfway done by now. Surprisingly, he’s not upset about the trade-off.

Around 5, there’s a knock at the door that Jeff had been expecting. What he hadn’t been expecting was for it to be only Eric. His surprise must show on his face because Eric smiles sheepishly at him.

“They all left early because they had to do some stuff before the party. They were gonna ask you to go too, but I told them I would just see if you wanted to walk with me.” Eric explains.

“Oh.” Jeff manages to say. He’s never really spent time with Eric alone before, even if this is just a five minute walk to the rink. His heart races just at the thought of it. “Cool.” he finishes lamely, but Eric’s still smiling, so he figures he can’t look too stupid. He hears his mom walking up behind him and turns to face her. She takes in his flushed face and raises an eyebrow before turning to Eric.

“Hi Eric. Here to pick him up?” She asks, smiling.

“Yes, ma’am.” Eric responds. Jeff’s mom laughs and, for some reason, ruffles Jeff’s hair.

“Call me Liz. Please.” She requests. She hands Jeff some money and tells them to have a good night before practically pushing them out the door with a wink. Once the door is closed behind them, Jeff takes a confused second to stare at it. His mom was strangely eager to get him out of the house. He shrugs it off when Eric taps a knuckle against his arm.

“You ready?” He asks. Jeff agrees and they head off in the direction of the rink. “So what did you do today?”

“Um, nothing really. I just read a book.” Jeff tries to play it off like he’s not a nerd. “What did you do?” Eric mumbles something about practice and Cam but changes the subject back to Jeff.

“Tell me about your book.” And, well, Jeff can’t really resist.

“Well there’s this girl named Taylor and her mom leaves her at this boarding school type place and Taylor ran off with this Cadet named Jonah but then the Brigadier brought them back and then she hates Jonah and the Brigadier but she’s in charge of the Jellicoe school, or the Underground I think it’s called, in the territory wars and Jonah’s in charge of the Cadets and then there’s Chaz who’s in charge of the Townies and it’s like a mystery book because there’s like two stories happening at once and you have to figure out how they fit together.” Jeff realizes he’s rambling and snaps his mouth shut, but the look in Eric’s eyes makes him flush. Jeff wants to call it fondness, but that’s not exactly it.

“Sounds pretty interesting. Do you like it better than that Compass book you were reading?” Eric asks.

“Yeah, so much better.” Jeff says vehemently, but also a little thrilled that Eric paid enough attention to remember what book he had been reading months ago. “The ending of  _ The Golden Compass _ was really stupid, but  _ Jellicoe Road _ was really good. I’ll probably read it again.” They finish the walk to the rink chatting about random things. Jeff turns the conversation to hockey and Eric goes on a rant about the coaching staff that Jeff can’t really follow. He nods along anyway, and they part ways when they get to the rink. Eric already has skates, but Jeff lost his figure skates in the move so he has to go to the rental desk.

“JEFF!” Jared screeches from across the room, waving frantically. Jeff laughs and heads over once he’s got his skates. Jared introduces him to his friends, and Jeff greets Jordy’s friends that he knows from school. It’s only been a couple weeks since school started so he hasn’t gotten a chance to get to know many of them, but Elias, Noah, and Ryan greet him enthusiastically. They’re all hockey players, on the same Jr. High team as Jared and Jordy, so Jeff anticipates this night isn’t going to be very fun for him. Ever since the Goalie Incident, he’s been afraid to try playing hockey again.

He spends the first few minutes watching from the bench while the boys have trick shot competitions that no one wins because none of them are actually very good yet. He doesn’t want to look like a loser skating by himself on the other end of the ice, but he doesn’t want to awkwardly stand next to them not participating in their hockey stuff. He’s just glad no one’s called him out yet. That is, until Eric skates up and leans on the boards in front of him.

“Hey, why don’t you show me some of your figure skating stuff? I wanna see a triple axel or… whatever you call it.” Eric demands. Jeff laughs out loud at the thought of landing a triple axel, but hops over the boards anyway.

“There’s no way that’s gonna happen, but I can show you some things that’ll probably help you in hockey.” Jeff responds while Eric grins happily at him. Jeff shows him some basic technique stuff that could maybe probably help Eric out with hockey, but Jeff figures it might be a little difficult with hockey gear and Eric’s not going to listen to him anyway. By the end of the night, all of the boys are following along with Jeff, jokingly attempting jumps and spins and twirls. They all go out for pizza afterwards, and this is the first time that Jeff really feels like he belongs with anyone other than the Staal boys. When he walks into his house later that night, he sees his parents watching TV in the living room.

“Hey! Did you have fun?” His mom asks. Jeff can’t keep the smile off his face and shouts a ‘ _ yeah _ ’ as he runs up to his bedroom. His mom follows him up, of course, not appreciating his one word response. She leans against Jeff’s door frame with one eyebrow raised. Jeff sighs heavily.

“Yes, mom, I had fun. We went skating and then we had pizza.” Jeff tries to sound like a normal bored teenager, but the effect is ruined by the smile that he can’t seem to make go away.

“Uh-huh.” She says mildly. “So… Eric.” Jeff freezes. He sees the twinkle in her eye and it makes him nervous.

“What about him?” Jeff figures playing dumb is his best bet of getting out of this only mildly embarrassed.

“Nothing. I just expect that if you happen to find yourself with a boyfriend in the near future, you’ll let me know.” She says, grinning teasingly. Jeff wishes the floor would open up and  _ swallow _ him.

“It’s not like that, mom.” He argues. “We’re friends.”

“Mmmhm.” She hums disbelievingly. “Whatever you say.”

“Mom.” Jeff whines, making her laugh.

“All I’m saying, honey, is that my friends and I don’t look at each other that way.”

“ _ Mom!” _ She laughs and throws her hands up in surrender.

“Alright!” She finally says. “Goodnight.”

Jeff throws himself on his bed and hides from his feelings.

~~~

Apparently, Linda and Henry have a schedule. Jared’s birthday is in August, Jordan’s birthday is in September, Eric’s is in October, and Marc’s is in November. Unlike Jared and Jordan, though, Eric and Marc have separate parties. For his fifteenth birthday, Eric decides to have his party at Dave and Busters. They had eaten pretty much as soon as they got there while they waited for Eric’s friends to show up. There were  _ a lot _ of them and Jeff was feeling pretty overwhelmed. He had never met any of them before except for Cam, and there were maybe 20 of them, a mix guys and girls. One of them, Tanya, had latched on to Eric’s arm pretty much as soon as she had walked in the door. Eric didn’t seem too bothered by it so Jeff lets it go. But the noise and the crowd and so many people he doesn’t know start to make Jeff’s head hurt, so he goes off to start playing some games. If it just so happens that any time Eric and the girl get near him he goes to find a different game, who’s gonna notice? Not Eric. He’s too busy smiling down at blondie. Cam might notice, if the sharp looks he throws Jeff’s way are any indication, but it’s not like he’s going to say anything about it. Jeff talks to Jordy for a bit, but he and Jared are having a competition to see who can get the most tickets so he doesn’t hang around for long. Eventually, he finds a quiet corner of the arcade and a seldom-used coin dozer game. It’s not very exciting but Jeff’s just glad for the break. Until he’s found.

“Jeff! I’ve been looking for you.” Jeff flails around to face Eric… and Tanya, who still hasn’t let him go. “Where have you been?” Jeff gestures vaguely.

“Just… around.” He answers lamely. He glances at Tanya to see her disdainful expression. Apparently she doesn’t appreciate Eric’s attention being elsewhere.

“What, are you his babysitter or something?” Tanya asks Eric mockingly. There’s a flash of annoyance in Eric’s eyes, but he turns back to her so Jeff guesses she wins anyway. He doesn’t wait around to hear Eric’s reply, just mumbles something about the bathroom before rushing away. He doesn’t want to be introduced to Eric’s girlfriend, and he especially doesn’t want to hear how Eric will introduce him. His neighbor? His brother’s friend? The boy he hangs out with sometimes because his crush is obvious and Eric doesn’t want to hurt his feelings? It’s just safer not knowing. He does go to the bathroom but he doesn’t feel like going back to the games afterward. Instead, he goes to sit at the table with Henry and Linda. He doesn’t actually mind being the kid that hangs out with the parents, although they’re looking a little confused.

“Where are all of your tickets?” Henry asks. Jeff shrugs.

“I gave all of them to Jordy because he and Jared are having a competition. I wouldn’t win enough to get anything good anyway.” Jeff replies. Just then, Cam throws himself into the seat next to Jeff, startling everyone at the table. He knocks into Jeff in what is probably supposed to be a friendly jostle but is actually hard enough to leave a bruise.

“Skins, you gotta go save Eric.” he demands while staring at Jeff with that same sharp look. Jeff looks over and sees Eric and Tanya over by the ski ball game. Eric doesn’t look in need of saving. In fact, he’s laughing as he throws the ski ball into the wrong lane and doesn’t look particularly concerned about Tanya’s hand latching onto his arm every time she talks.

“He looks fine to me.” Jeff says, possibly a little sharper than he intended. “His girlfriend is keeping him company.” Cam looks at him knowingly and Jeff sees Henry and Linda listening curiously.

“She’s definitely not his girlfriend. He can’t get away from the leech.” Cam explains.

“Cameron!” Linda scolds. “That’s not nice.” Jeff notices that she doesn’t disagree with the nickname.

“Sorry.” Cam says unconvincingly. “She’s the same way at school. The only reason he can get away from her is because she has to go to different classes.”

“Well what am I supposed to do about it?” Jeff questions. “It’s not like I can tell her to leave. It’s Eric’s party.”

“Just go over there. Be moral support.” Cam demands, starting to pull Jeff out of his chair.

“Why can’t you do it?” Jeff tries not to sound like he’s whining but he doesn’t think he succeeds. Cam pauses long enough to shoot him a  _ you idiot _ look, and even Henry and Linda look at him like he should know better. That’s what makes him stop fighting and he allows Cam to pull him up.

“Because it’s  _ you _ , Jeff.” Cam says simply. Jeff doesn’t really know what that means, but he makes his way over to Eric anyway. He doesn’t miss the way Eric’s face lights up when he sees Jeff, and neither does Tanya. She gives him a sour look behind Eric’s shoulder.

“Jeff! Finally!” he greets, throwing an arm over his shoulder. Eric maneuvers Jeff in front of him. “Help me win at ski ball. I’m garbage.” Jeff can’t help but giggle, but he does as he’s asked. Eric’s placed Jeff between him and Tanya as they take turns throwing the ball. They spend the rest of the party that way; Eric and Jeff taking turns at games and Eric putting his arm around Jeff every time Tanya reaches out to touch him. She doesn’t go away, but Jeff can see her getting angrier and angrier as the night goes on. Jeff doesn’t particularly like the thought of having enemies, but he takes a petty satisfaction in the fact that Eric prefers him. By the time everyone leaves, Jeff’s surprised she didn’t burst into flames with how angry she was. Cam gave Jeff a subtle wink and he had to hide his giggles while climbing into the back of the Staal van.

The Staals never bother dropping Jeff off at his house, and tonight is no different. Surprisingly, however, Eric starts walking with Jeff over to his house. He hides his surprise and delight and pretends this happens all the time.

“Happy birthday.” Jeff offers quietly, nudging Eric with his elbow. Eric smiles and nudges him back.

“Thanks for coming.” Eric replies. “I wish we could’ve spent more time together. I didn’t really want to invite Tanya, but I couldn’t invite all of her friends and not her.” Jeff doesn’t know why Eric felt the need to explain, but he’s still glad to hear it.

“You gotta do what you gotta do, sometimes.” Jeff replies. Eric gives him a considering look and a  _ hmm. _ They reach Jeff’s front door and Eric looks at him consideringly. Jeff feels his face heat up and he  _ really needs to get his blood vessels under control. _ “What?” he asks when the silence has lasted too long for him. Eric just gives him a small smile.

“Nothing, Jeff.” They don’t say anything else, just stand there smiling at each other. It should feel awkward, but it doesn’t. That is, until the door swings open and Jeff’s mom stands there grinning at them.

“Hello, boys.” she greets overenthusiastically. Jeff groans internally. “And happy birthday, Eric.”

“Thank you!” he responds, but Jeff swears he sees Eric start to blush. “Um, I should get home.” he smiles at Jeff shyly and then his mom, before mumbling a  _ goodnight _ and hurrying away. Jeff slips past his mom into the house, hoping that he can escape. It’s a futile hope.

“I never would’ve thought you were into older men.” she teases. Jeff groans loudly and heads up the stairs to the sound of her laughter. “We’ll have to make sure to keep you two supervised.” She calls after him. Jeff liked it better before when she was  _ understanding _ about his crushes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there's that. Sorry.
> 
> Marc's birthday is actually in January but I changed it to suit my needs.


	4. Sorry Guys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don't hate me

I'm going to be discontinuing this for personal reasons. Sorry everyone!

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Piece of Your Heart by Mayday Parade.


End file.
